As one of the four great immortal sects of the Fuyuan Realm, the Marketplace of the Lingyun Sect was naturally bustling with activity.
Passing through the crowded Zhuque Avenue, Gu Chengshu had just turned onto Zhenyuan Street, where foot traffic was relatively sparse, when she saw a flying sword transmission dart straight into Baochang Pavilion.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she lifted her feet and stepped into her family's small spiritual artifact shop.
"What is the customer looking to view?"
"Old Uncle Yu, it's me."
"Chengshu?"
In this world, only Chengshu called him Old Uncle Yu.
Old Uncle Yu's aged eyes suddenly lit up, and his voice trembled slightly, "As long as you're back, as long as you're back."
Upon hearing that she had been sentenced to the Cliff of Reflection, Old Uncle Yu had gone to the adjacent Baochang Pavilion over a dozen times to seek an audience, hoping to ask that Second Master Yin to put in a good word so that Elder Yin would find out sooner.
Hateful to say, the other party kept making all kinds of promises and even accepted the gifts he brought, yet dragged things out day after day, ultimately dismissing him with: "Three months will pass in the blink of an eye, and Chengshu probably wouldn't want us to go asking Geng Shu for help anyway."
"Zhuang, mind the shop." Having instructed the clerk, Old Uncle Yu went into the inner room with Gu Chengshu. "True Monarch Feng Lan is back. Have you seen her?"
Right now, the only person they could count on was True Monarch Feng Lan.
In the past, when True Monarch Feng Lan was away, he had been utterly helpless, but now...
"I just came from Mingfeng Valley."
Gu Chengshu took off her bamboo hat. "Don't worry," having a scar on her forehead was simply unavoidable; she didn't have the ability to make it vanish instantly. "A minor injury traded for the annulment of an engagement—it's well worth it!"
What?
Old Uncle Yu turned grave. "How could Elder Yin possibly agree?"
After all these years, he had figured out certain truths long ago.
It was just that the people who could back them up were not around; if things were truly blown into a public scandal, as for the shop, he was old and didn't care, but Chengshu's life...
"The Sect Master personally helped me annul the engagement."
Not True Monarch Feng Lan?
"You... tell me the whole process from start to finish."
"There's no time. Yin Zhengjiang will probably be over here shortly to collect debts. Old Uncle Yu, I've already broken ties with them. Bring out the ledger of our transactions with the Yin Family and force them to pay back what they owe!"
What?
Old Uncle Yu was dumbfounded. "You..."
"That master of mine cares a great deal about his pride."
Gu Chengshu smiled. "Then we'll just have to make sure the Yin Family upholds his pride properly for him."
"But you..."
"Old Uncle Yu, I died once on the Cliff of Reflection."
Gu Chengshu turned to look at him. "Senior Sister Feng Lan promised me she won't be leaving anytime soon. As for my dear master, he's off to Dragon Poison Shoals."
"...Old Uncle Yu will listen to you in everything."
Hearing her say she had died once on the Cliff of Reflection felt like a sharp needle piercing Old Uncle Yu's heart.
They had nothing left to retreat to.
"I'll grab the ledger right now. Before they come looking for us, we'll go looking for them."
Having endured for so many years, he had long had enough.
"Mn!"
Watching him retrieve the ledger, Gu Chengshu felt a surge of joy. "If they bring up my master again, just say it's Senior Sister Feng Lan's wish."
Senior Sister would tacitly agree, right?
She definitely would.
Besides, the Yin Family wouldn't dare go question Senior Sister directly.
At this thought, Gu Chengshu's mind settled completely. "Old Uncle Yu, since their family is about to be hounded for debts by the sect, they certainly won't have any cash."
Thirteen years of 'fake' generosity, plus what she herself had poured into it, should be enough to break the Yin Family's bones and muscles. "Just tell them straight out: if they have no money to pay, they can pay in goods, anything will do. Afterwards, you'll be reporting the accounts to Senior Sister Feng Lan anyway."
"Good!"
Throwing everything onto True Monarch Feng Lan was the best possible move.
Yin Zhenghai wouldn't dare butt heads with True Monarch Feng Lan, let alone the rest of the Yin Family.
Old Uncle Yu felt a mixture of gratification and heartache.
In the beginning, they had truly treated Tianxiang Peak and the Yin Family as their own home.
When they realized something was wrong, Chengshu had had a much harder time than him.
Now...
Old Uncle Yu hurried over to the next building, but Gu Chengshu still couldn't vent her frustration.
She directly unlocked the mechanism in the table leg, fished out the storage ring dedicated to storing spirit stones from inside, grabbed the large cloak that Old Uncle Yu occasionally wore to secret markets, and set off to sweep the shelves clean.
The Yin Family couldn't possibly have that much ordinary spirit rice.
But the sect's debts... that Sect Master might not necessarily allow them to let the matter rest overnight.
Having received the memories and emotional soul fragments of the original owner, Gu Chengshu knew—not only had her father said it, that Sect Master was skinflint-level stingy—even Senior Sister Feng Lan and that good master of hers had complained about it behind closed doors.
She was going to buy up all that rice first and let them sweat!
No sooner had Gu Chengshu slipped out the back door than Wan Linglong arrived at Baochang Pavilion in person, holding a handwritten note from Yin Zhenghai.
"Ah, so it's Fairy Wan. Please wait a moment, Fairy Wan, I'll have a clerk fetch the goods for you right away!"
Yin Zhengjiang was burning with rage thanks to Old Uncle Yu.
He hadn't even gone looking for him yet, and the old man actually dared to...
However, Wan Linglong had arrived, and she was no ordinary person; he could only greet her with a smiling face. "Little Sanzi, hurry and take my identity token, go pull inventory from all the shops, and tell the shopkeepers that once I'm done with this business, I'll treat them all to drinks at Qingfeng Tower!"
"Understood!"
When the clerk, Little Sanzi, gave a loud acknowledgment, he glanced at Old Uncle Yu.
Word had it that this fellow used to be called Little Sanzi as well.
It was because of him that the shopkeeper had changed his name.
Old Uncle Yu acted as if he hadn't seen the look from Little Sanzi, holding the ledger tightly instead. "Shopkeeper Yin, these accounts really cannot wait any longer. True Monarch Feng Lan specifically sent a message: if you don't clear these accounts today, she will bring the ledger and go to Tianxiang Peak in person."
This?
Yin Zhengjiang felt like grinding his teeth to dust!
The duck cooked and ready in their hands had actually flown away.
At this rate, his eldest brother probably wanted to eat people raw.
He...
Over the years, he had embezzled quite a bit for himself; if True Monarch Feng Lan really slammed this ledger into his eldest brother's face, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Have some tea, Fairy Wan!"
After pouring tea for Wan Linglong, he forced his smile back onto his face. "Shopkeeper Yu, our two families have shared friendship for so many years. Even if Chengshu and Yin Cheng couldn't become husband and wife, they are still the closest senior and junior martial siblings. Acting like this... have you ever thought about how she will fare in the future—"
"I don't have time to think about that right now!"
Old Uncle Yu sighed. "You know Senior Feng Lan's temper. Once she decides on something, how could it ever be up to you or me to turn things around?"
Yin Zhengjiang: "..."
His heart ached so much!
Why did Feng Lan have to come back?
Why did she have to return at such a critical juncture?
If he had known earlier...
"However, I don't have that much liquid cash on hand right now."
"It doesn't matter, Senior Feng Lan said that since both our families run shops, if there's no cash, paying with goods is just the same."
"Ahem!"
Wan Linglong nearly choked on her sip of tea.
No wonder Master always said Senior Uncle Feng Lan was the hardest senior uncle to deal with.
Junior Uncle Yin had rushed off to Dragon Poison Shoals in such a panic precisely because he was afraid of being intercepted by her!
"Don't mind me, you two carry on!"
Wan Linglong smiled at the two of them. "I know Senior Uncle Feng Lan's temper too. Shopkeeper Yin would do well to clear the accounts sooner; I think that would be best for everyone."
If a real fight broke out, even her own master probably wouldn't come out ahead.
"As for Junior Sister Gu... she won't be returning to Tianxiang Peak for quite a while. Once the accounts are settled, I imagine Junior Uncle Yin will have an easier time of it as well."